Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Let me share a few goals that the board and I have identified at this point. First, we have a new board structure that places each committee under the guidance of a director. We hope that that will help focus our efforts and bring every member's voice to the board in its planning. We look forward to your participation.

Other goals include: increasing income through grants, fund raising, and giving; reducing the society's outstanding debt; mounting a more vigorous and systematic program of community outreach, and welcoming of new members; finding opportunities for greater exposure and involvement of the society in wider community; continuing to promote the Rose Haven Heritage Garden; and developing and delivering new educational programs for our members and the community at large to spread the knowledge and love of roses.

But it's not all business! I'm hoping all our members will look for new ways to create fun and excite and create wonderful memories.

There will be many opportunities to get involved and I look forward to joining you in those in 2012.

Membership Renewal Data

Renewal forms are available on the Rose Society web page: temeculavalleyrosesociety.org/memapp.html. The forms will also be available at our January Meeting. Kathy Turgeon & Bernice Wendt.

January Membership Drive

REMEMBER that January 1 starts the official 2012 Membership Drive that continues until February 29, 2012 Any new membership applicant (not renewals) who join the TVRS during that period will receive a 5 gallon rose bush (while supplies last).

The bare root roses have been purchased and potted by Ron Rumbold and are already budding at this time. The distribution of the rose bushes will take place at the scheduled Member Orientation Session. The following roses have been potted for the Membership Drive: 2 each of Helmut Schmidt, rated 7.3, Medium Yellow; Ole', rated 7.1, Orange Red; Olympiad, rated 8.6, Medium Red; King's Ransom, rated 6.4, Deep Yellow; Queen Elizabeth, rated 7.8, Medium Pink; & Chicago Peace, rated 7.7, Pink.

It's up to each of us to encourage our friends and neighbors to join us in 2012. Kathy Turgeon & Bernice Wendt.

2012 Board Members

2012 Board of Directors

Youth Gardening Update

It's been a quiet month in Youth Gardening. Not many winter veggies at the Tree of Life, and the freeze knocked out our wonderful tomato crop. The herbs are still there for all to pick through. Even small amounts of herbs chopped fresh into salads, soups, stews and side dishes boost immune systems. Just help yourself.

While attracting families to Rose Haven with our Third Saturday program is often hit and miss, the importance of offering and publicizing a youth component of our non-profit can not be over emphasized. Mi-Ae Kim, Margaret Meyncke, Kathy Katz, Jo-Ann Summers, Rebecca Weersing and Chair Barb Purdy meet monthly to put in place educational and fun programs for years to come. The kids are our future.

Member Meeting Program

A light buffet luncheon will be served around noon. Guests are welcome.

January Birthdays & New Members

Little Rose Show, December Awards

At the December holiday party, the awards are made to the participating members having the highest number of points, based on the ratings of their roses entered during 2011.

Each received a classic ceramic vase, in neutral colors, the perfect backdrop for a special arrangement of their gorgeous championship blooms.

Lenore Vogel and May Olson are taking over the Little Rose Show for 2012, and I will be bowing out. It's been fun for me. Thanks for the generous participation.

Rose Haven Update

Here we go with a blast into 2012. If you have been to the garden lately, you will easily see that major tree trimming has already been completed. There are several other maintenance projects that will begin in January. A landscape crew will be pruning all hillside roses (there are 500) and it is way too steep for our volunteers to accomplish. All massive shrubs and grasses will be pruned by the crew that same week: pace, butterfly bushes, grasses and other huge plants. So look for lots of activity. Of course, volunteers will be needed to prune the roses in the original rose garden. Wednesday and Saturday mornings will be our work days and we surely can use many members to chop, chop, and chop. Take a look at the photo of Lyse McGonigle pruning away last January.

Our rose pruning demonstration is Saturday, January 14th at 9 a.m. The program will be lead by Frank Brines and it is open to our members as well as the public. Come out and join us—there's always something new to learn or share with other rose enthusiasts. This is a hands-on lesson, so bring your pruners, gloves and plenty of good spirit. We also need volunteers to meet, greet and invite visitors to sign-in if pruning is not your passion.

The garden committee meeting will be January 25, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. All interested members are invited to attend. 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula.

Lyse Pruning

Our Holiday Luncheon!

Once again Ann Coakes prepared and transported the main part of our Holiday Feast—turkey and ham; Oh my! Many thanks to all who pitched in to help. We all love our feasts. Ron once again showed his flair with the carving knife.

We still do not have a hospitality chair for 2012, which means that we all have to pitch in and help each month. I will come early to get the coffee on (we have been asked to not come before 9:45). I will bring milk. If anyone needs cream please bring it. Ann will bring the boxes of supplies until someone else volunteers.

We ask that all clean up carefully. Perhaps you could offer to help put lunch out or clean up the kitchen after? Helping is usually a lot of fun and you get to know people when you work with them. It is not hard, but many hands make light work.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

January and February are excellent months for planning roses in the Temecula Valley. Roses planted now have plenty of time and mild conditions to establish their root systems and form relationships with soil fungi so they can become real show stoppers in the garden as early as May. A wide selection of roses are available this month and next at home improvement centers and nurseries. Most nurseries and retail suppliers have Web sites where you can order roses. These plants tend to be fresher, as they come from the source.

Whatever their source, roses usually come to you "bare root," potted, or packaged. Bare root plants are just that, usually packed in wood chips to keep the roots damp and viable. They are the slowest to thrive and it is best to get them early and planted immediately so they have the maximum amount of time to become established. Potted roses mak the quickest and most successful transition to the garden, but they also tend to be more expensive and not as plentiful in selection.

But where to plant those new roses? Well, if you did a great job caring for your roses in 2011, now is a good time to "shovel prune" those that didn't perform well. And rather than tossing that plant in the green waste barrel, consider giving it away. I suggest that you pot it and give to the Temecula Valley Rose Society for their planned plant sale in May. If possible, please include the name of the rose. Some plants that do poorly for you may perform better for someone else. That doesn't mean that you're a failure; it's just that another garden may have just the right combination of environmental variables that the particular rose variety needs for success.

Well, that will leave you with a vacant spot in your garden where you can plant a new rose! And you can do that without removing any more soil from the hole. However, because the previous rose did poorly, it's a good idea to assess the spot. Does it have good drainage? Many gardens in our area have a very dense layer of clay beneath the topsoil that can prevent drainage. Even with our recent rains, holes you dig in your rose garden should not show standing or pooling water. If they do, you've got a problem that isn't going to be solved by planting a new rose. You can try digging deeper to see if you can break through that layer in order for the water to percolate away. You can also apply a "soil buster" product available at local stores that specialize in soil conditioners. You may also apply some gypsum powder at the bottom of the hole, in hopes that it may help loosen the clay. (In any case, it can't hurt!)

Now, if you do dig the hole deeper to improve drainage, you've created a new challenge: Loose soil reintroduced into the hole will tend to settle with each watering. If the new rose is grafted-that is, if it isn't growing on it's own rootstock-settling may bury the graft, and that can encourage suckers from the rootstock. Suckers draw away sugars and nutrients from the main plant; also, suckers tend to produce leggy plants with uninteresting blooms. To help prevent all suckering, before you place the new plant into the hole, press the soil down firmly.

Now, if your soil is high in clay, packing down the soil can introduce yet another problem: It can press out air pockets and make the soil less permeable to water and to roots. To avoid this problem, fill the hole with a good potting soil formulated for roses. The "bud union" or base of the plant should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches above the soil line. Mix some organic fertilizer that is slightly higher in phosphate to the soil at this time of year when planting new plants. The long lasting, slow breakdown and slow release of the fertilizer will be available by the time the soil warms up in spring.

In the Temecula Valley January is a good time to plan your pruning schedule, but it may be a little too early to actually prune, depending on your microclimate. Pruning too early runs the risk of exposing tender new growth to killing frosts. A good rule of thumb is that new growth appears about three weeks after pruning, so the major annual pruning should be completed by the end of February if you want major blooms to appear 8 to 12 weeks later.

I will provide detailed guidance on this major pruning in my February column. Also, please tell every rose lover you know that I will be giving a free pruning demonstration at Rose haven Heritage Garden on January 21, 2012. Rose Haven is located at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road (the cross street is Cabrillo Avenue) in Temecula. Spread the word and spread the joy of roses!

For more ideas, visit TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula, as well as our web site: TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml.